Heya guys, CCC here! Pressure's starting to pick up here, so after I close off this book with the epilogue, I'll most likely go dark for a bit. Nothing to worry about, just don't have as much time as I used to. I'll still be writing, don't get me wrong, just need to keep my studies up to date. Exams are around the corner, so gotta make sure I'm ready, you know?
Anyways, let's roll. I'm sure you didn't come here to read my A/N's.
"In the coldest of vacuums, where the blazing heat of passion dies, even the heart of the one with hope will freeze. An eternity of darkness and suffering, brought about only by the desire to save another being. You who endure both, rise from the shadows and look upon your new world!" Vade chanted, his voice gradually growing to a fevered pitch. Ethereal winds were drawing the very air they breathed into the vortex that was the black sphere. Blue-purple flames were shooting out of the cracks, which were expanding quickly, covering the whole in a nexus of blue, flaming lines. "Thunder forth, Kurokami, Chosen Avatar of the Dark Creator!"
The shell broke with a tumultuous CRASH!
Within the writing purple flames stood a man draped in black, black robes which fluttered around him like feathers, dark gold patterns embroidered on the fine silk. Dark blond hair flowed in a clear defiance of gravity, as if afloat in non-existent waters. Pale skin danced across a moderately handsome face, currently expressionless, his eyes gently shut, as if asleep. He had his hands outstretched sideways, fingers apart, within the flames as if they were but a stream of water.
Two metallic wings were stretching outwards from his back, each chrome feather reflecting the dark flames surrounding their owner. As the three watched, he opened his eyes, revealing shimmering, glowing orbs that radiated a pure golden glow. The fires surrounding him dimmed, forming a purplish aura which snaked and crackled around him as he lowered his hands, his wings retracting slightly.
"The dark god... Kurokami." Ozpin shakily stated, his face a rare image of hopelessness. "The one from the tale of the Night Walkers."
"Correct, in a sense." the man replied with a bitter smile, his voice light and calm, raising a hand and stretching it out before him. "It has been too long since I last tasted the free air." He flexed his fingers, twirling them this way and that, before lowering his pale arm and gazing at Ozpin with a neutral expression. "Have we met?"
"Not directly, Master." Vade answered, drawing the godly being's gaze into his own crimson eyes. "Upon my first mention of you, he... misunderstood your intent for this world. We fell into conflict because of it." He glared at Ozpin. "That's how he knows you."
"Interesting." Kurokami responded, also moving his own eyes back upon the old headmaster. "To think mortal fears were based upon the unknown over the ages, that a lack of knowledge bred fear in its place." He took a step towards Ozpin, a step that sent a small ripple of pure, white energy through the floor where his bare foot touched the glass of the Dark Library. "Allow me to put some of those doubts to rest, if I may. What would you have me tell you that would remove these unknown factors?"
Ozpin looked a little taken aback at his words.
"What do you intend for this world?" he asked quickly.
"Peace." Kurokami replied.
"How do you intend to achieve that?" Ozpin pressed.
"In the wake of your absence from Beacon, alongside Team RWBY, the assault on Vale has already begun." the dark god replied. "The attackers will be dealt with by my own hand. Following this, I will dispose of the one who lusts after the power of the Fall Maiden, Cinder Fall, and redistribute her power elsewhere. Then, I will send a message to the world, that their fears are misplaced. Yes," he continued as Ozpin's expression turned to one of shock, "I know of the path she wishes to take with this attack."
"So, aside from our 'attackers', the world has nothing to fear from you?" Ozpin asked quickly.
"Only those who have angered the Creator have anything to fear from me." the godly being replied. "You, and your students, are not among them. Currently, he wishes for the attackers' death, and nothing more."
There was a pause.
"What do you mean by 'the Creator'?" Ozpin queried.
"Didn't you get the memo?" Vade asked, also stepping forward, Aya imitating him. "His title was Avatar of the Dark Creator. The original from the story is still locked up, but Kuro is his way of altering events in the world. Through him, the Creator can affect anything in this world, but the one standing next to me is just a paintbrush, if you will, one wielded by the painter."
"An inelegant example, but accurate, my acolyte." Kurokami added. "Does this settle your fear?"
"If I may." Ozpin said, stepping towards the man, now only a couple of paces away from the man. Vade tensed up, but a nod from Kurokami made him relax.
"I wish to apologize for my misconception of your nature. Until now, my belief was that you would see the destruction of this world. I ask for forgiveness from you, and from your... acolyte." He made eye contact with Vade at this last, and the newcomer smiled calmly at Ozpin's words.
"Oh, Oz." Vade said slowly, his expression neutral. "This is what happens when you choose paranoia over a friend." His expression broke, and it became one of sadness, but also happiness at the same time. "I'm glad that you can see it now."
"You must understand the grounds I had. Please, Vade." Ozpin responded. The crimson eyed man let out a small chuckle, stepping past his master and daughter, until he was before Ozpin, looking up into the old man's eyes.
"Well, it hurt, not being able to talk to my best friend for twenty years." Vade replied, with a head tilt and classic smile. "But what are friends for? C'mon, Oz, let me back in. I've got nothing more to hide, no more moves to make. No more deaths to cause." He held out his hand, which was immediately taken in a hand shake.
"Thank you, Vade." Ozpin said appreciatively, as they broke contact.
"Oh, something you should know." Vade added, as he turned, and walked back to his master's side. "My real name isn't Vade."
"Oh?" Ozpin responded, surprised.
"That isn't the half of it. The Vade you knew died ten years ago." Vade explained, still with his back turned, to Ozpin's visibly mounting confusion. "When I learned of the White Fang's attack coming up, I went to take them on myself. As you might guess, they got the better of me, and cast me down. My master found my soul, allowed me to be reborn, and I've been confined to this form ever since, alongside my new twin sister." Red light started to flow around him... him? Her? It was like a crimson fire was crackling around him.
"I took this form to blend in." Aya said, her voice no longer breathy, no more pauses in-between words. "We're twin sisters now." Aya was glowing with her own blue light too, flowing around her as a stream of water might.
"Sisters?" Ozpin queried, still a look of shock upon his face. "But that means-"
"Assume your true forms." the godly being beside the pair instructed, cutting Ozpin off.
"As you wish, Master." both responded, before Vade spun around and locked eyes with Ozpin. "Prepare to have your mind blown."
The light surrounding them both grew brighter and brighter, soon enveloping the two in a light that burned the eyes, forcing Ozpin to duck his head down. Wind was howling... somehow inside the vast Dark Library.
"Vade? What?" Ozpin called out, confusedly.
"Hard to believe, isn't it?" a feminine voice, deep yet still unmistakably feminine, called out. The shining light slowly died, revealing Vade and Aya in their core appearances.
Where Vade and Aya once stood, now two women stood. Both had flowing silver hair which stroked their backs, their height matching their master. Pale, supple skin was visible, their colour coordinated kimono's displaying the same kind of golden symbols as their master. Slim, lithe bodies, no trace of fat on them at all. Their faces, so alike they could easily be mistaken for twins, subtly charming in their appearance. Both sported moderately sized busts too, nothing compared to some of the more developed students Ozpin had known, but still sizable.
The only thing different between them other than their outfits were their eyes. The one in Vade's spot had bright red eyes, looking like red candies, while the other sported cyan eyes that wouldn't look out of place fitted on a ring as gemstones. Both were smiling cheerily, but the red eyed one was tilting her head, just like Vade used to.
"Bet you didn't see this coming, did you?" the girl that was once Vade asked in a fluttery voice.
"I... can't say that I have." Ozpin responded after a pause. "This is your true form?"
"Yes." the other girl replied, her voice lower, less energetic than her sister.
"And I'm sorry I had to do this, but you see, we needed every advantage we could get if we wanted our Master in this world." the first girl said apologetically. "Once we were revived, I realized that I needed to assume my previous form to fit back into society. But now, at last, I get to show you what I really look like. The name, by the way, as of ten years ago," she added, holding up an index finger and winking, "is Akikaen, the Immortal Flame of the Dark Creator. But people can just call me Aki. I really don't mind."
"And you are?" Ozpin asked, tilting his head towards the blue-eyed girl, who until now had been posing as Vade's daughter, Aya.
"I'm Aoshio, Undying Tide of the Dark Creator, and Aki's twin sister." she replied with a bow, her tone a touch more serious, her strands of silver cast in front of her before it was flung back with a light flick of her hair, like a line into a lake. "Everyone calls me Shio. And our master is Kurokami, the Chosen Avatar of the Dark Creator."
"A misleading title, as I am sure you will agree." Kurokami said. "You may call me Kuro. Aki and Shio tell me that the shortening of a name makes it easier for mortal tongues."
"Aki, Ao and Kuro." Ozpin mused, drawing the exalted gaze upon him. "Red, blue and black, in the old tongue."
"Aki, let's go." Shio said, beckoning her sister with a finger. "We have work to do."
"What work?" Ozpin queried.
"Ending the White Fang attack before it even begins, of course." Aki replied, as if common knowledge. "Plus, you need to save Team RWBY. That's why you came to confront me, right?"
All three turned on their heels and walked away.
"I pity them." Ozpin heard Kuro mutter.
"Finally, we can do things our way." Shio muttered to her sister. "This will be fun."
Ruby hung from the suspension of the goo. She, and the rest of her team hung in silence as the dimensional window flashed once, before disappearing.
There was a moment of silence.
"He... he was a GIRL?!" Weiss yelled out.
"They were playing us for fools this whole time." Blake muttered. Sounds of a struggle emanated from behind her.
"We've got to get out!" Yang shouted, fighting against her own bonds. "They're going to-"
Ruby felt her front lurch forwards as the tentacles holding her hands and feet suddenly vanished, and she slammed against the ground, her cheek slapping painfully against the glassy floor. Grunts of pain from beside her told her that her team had met similar fates upon meeting the floor.
Too many things were rushing through her head right now.
Vade... no, Aki.
The god Kuro.
The fact that Aya was Shio, a twin sister.
All of this and more were flowing through her head. So many things had changed, it threatened to overwhelm her.
A hand on her back.
"Are you okay? Say something!"
A voice.
Weiss voice!
"I'm fine." she groaned, as she sat up. Weiss looked a little bit... scruffy. For the first time in her life, Weiss' hair wasn't all straight, her clothes weren't all smooth. Even as she pulled Ruby into a hug, she smelt something... nice. Was it Weiss' own scent?
"Yang, stop!" she heard Blake yell out from somewhere. "Ozpin's coming to get us."
A kiss on her cheek.
That was Weiss' kiss.
Ruby felt her body relax, even as her addled brain tried to keep up with everything that was happening.
One thing was for sure.
Things wouldn't be the same, even if Kuro's vision for the future came true.
To be continued...